Picture what your community would look like if there were no drugs.
Focus. Zoom in. Frame it.
Now capture that image with a photo.
That’s what the Armstrong-Indiana Drug Free Community Coalition, in partnership with the Armstrong-Indiana Drug and Alcohol Commission, asked Armstrong and Indiana county residents to do at a kickoff Wednesday for its “Picture Your Community Drug Free” photo contest.
The contest is designed to showcase the positive impact of a drug free community.
Picture you home, you family, your friends or your pets, the beautiful scenery – whatever is important o you, organizers said.
Picture children safely attending school, community parks that provide families opportunities for recreation and local resources devoted to enhancing the quality of life and not combating illegal drug use, they said.
“We want people to come up with a picture of what a drug free community would represent to them,” said Kay Owen, coalition chairwoman. “Submit your photo to us of what you think that might look like.”
“It could be people riding bikes, kids playing in a park or just hanging out at Crooked Creek,” she added. “It’s a way to involve everybody. Be creative, use your imagination of what local images of Armstrong and Indiana counties can say about the value of a drug free community.”
The photos must be taken in Armstrong or Indiana counties, said Tim Lehner, a member of the coalition and its co-chairman of media communications. Lehner, a self-employed marketing designer, who does work for ACMH Hospital, helped put together the drug free picture initiative.
In judging the photo submissions, a finalist will be chose from five age categories: kindergarten through third grade; fourth through sixth grades; seventh through ninth; 10th through 12th and 18 years and older.
A 15-inch digital picture frame will be awarded to a finalist in each age category. Lehner said.
“We want people to be creative,” said Carrie Bence, project director and deputy director of the Armstrong-Indiana Drug and Alcohol Commission. “They may already have a picture in their mind of what drug free means to them. It may be friends walking home together or a quiet place where they can relax. Everyone has a different idea. Show us how you see your community.”
The Armstrong-Indiana Drug Free Communities Coalition is a leading organization bringing together all the community sectors to create a safe, healthy and drug free environment in the two counties for its youth and families.
Major partners of the coalition include Armstrong County Communities That Care, Indiana County Collective Action Against Underage Drinking and the Armstrong and Indiana County Tobacco Free Coalitions.
It is represented by a cross-section of individuals in the community from education, health care, drug and alcohol prevention, human services, law enforcement, government, parents and concerned citizens.
“We know that when communities come together and organize into a collation and do community vocalization, taking a pro-active approach to prevention, it has a tremendous impact on the issue (of substance abuse),“ said Owen. “If you can see your community being drug free, take a picture of it and just think how many things would be different – like all the money devoted to law enforcement that could be put into positive development in the community.”
Rules: The photo must be taken in Armstrong or Indiana counties. Each photo submitted must be e-mailed separately. Submissions are to be mailed in digital form (jpg preferred) to drugfree@aidac.org. All required information must be included for eligibility. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 18, 2009.
How to enter: Attach the photo submission in an e-mail that includes your full name, address, phone number, school (if applicable), and your age. Include at least one sentence stating why you are choosing to submit that particular photo along with the picture’s location.
